


Home to Me (feels like home)

by no_big_deal



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Just two nice people meeting in a nice way, Really the softest, and a couple mentions of boobs, should be rated G but Ben swears, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24241312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/no_big_deal/pseuds/no_big_deal
Summary: Rey's washing machine is broken and Ben's there to fix it. She makes him a sandwich. He doesn't end up fixing the washing machine. That's it, that's the fic.
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 26
Kudos: 87
Collections: 9 Squares Reylo Challenge, Reylomicrofics





	Home to Me (feels like home)

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was supposed to be a reylomicrofic for the weekend writing challenge about describing a place, with the characters describing three things they love and hate about the place. It turned into this instead. 
> 
> I'm also filling my 9squares prompt for "soft" because hoo boy this be the SOFTEST.
> 
> Title from "Feels like Home" by Edwina Hayes.

Ben took a deep breath, ensuring his name tag with the “Chandrila Appliance Repair” logo was clearly visible to someone looking through the peephole before he knocked on the apartment door at the Plutt Arms Apartments.

He hated this part, the stress of introducing himself and meeting a stranger never failed to make his heart pound painfully and his stomach churn. But knocking wasn't even the most difficult part, _that_ was trying to look non-threatening, as he stood outside, waiting to be invited into someone’s apartment, their home. He knew he looked intimidating, because Poe had told him a thousand times that he looked intimidating.

Ben knew it was true, he was too big and gruff looking, he could tell people were hesitant to let him into their homes, peeking at him behind doors with the security chain still in place. He plastered what he hoped was a passable smile on his face, forcing his mouth to turn slightly upwards, and pushed his hair back. He knew he looked fake as fuck but what choice did he have? These socially awkward situations were his kryptonite. Slumping his shoulders he gave the door two short raps with his knuckles, and waited. 

He’d been told the resident had a washing machine that wasn’t agitating, which normally was a simple enough fix. If he was lucky, he’d be done in less than an hour, and have a longer than normal lunch break before his first afternoon appointment. 

The knock on her door woke Rey from where she had fallen asleep on her couch, the awful movie she'd randomly selected from Disney+ having failed to keep her interest for more than twenty minutes. She grabbed for her phone. 10:05 a.m. The washing machine repair guy was basically right on time all things considered. When Rose, the nice scheduler at Chandrila Appliances, says "the repair technician will be there between ten and noon," you never trust that it'll actually be at ten, right? Rey was thrilled. She could get back to the shop and put in a half day's work if the repair went quickly.

Feeling optimistic, Rey answered the door. She pulled it open wide, a big smile on her face and… wow. Wow. The repair guy was _fine._ Like not what she'd expected from the average repair guy or even the average human male. He was above average. Tall, dark and beautiful and _entirely above average._ She gaped at him, and ran her hand over her face, realizing in a self-conscious panic that she likely had sleep in her eyes, tangled hair, and wrinkled clothes. There was a moment where they just _looked_ at each other. Rey felt dazzled, like she was staring into a sunrise.

"Hi," said the repair guy, taking a deep breath. "I'm Ben, a repair technician from Chandrila Appliances…" he trailed off, and swallowed, the movement of his Adam's apple drawing Rey's attention to his lips and throat. "Can I come in?" he managed, the question, a strangled whisper. Rey stepped back, her eyes now dancing around Ben's shoulders and arms as he stepped through the doorway. 

Ben took a few seconds while Rey closed the door to try and collect himself, but he'd probably need weeks, not mere moments, to figure out just what had happened. The prettiest person he'd ever seen had, without hesitation, swung her door wide open and greeted him with the brightest smile he'd _ever_ received. He felt like he'd been punched right between the eyes. 

The door shut with a click and Rey came to stand near him. He felt the hairs on his arm all stand on end. "Thank you for coming," she said, her accented voice was soft and lovely and Ben knew he was in real trouble.

He looked down at the paperwork in his hand. "Of course. Are you Rey Johnson?" For a panicked moment he thought maybe he'd knocked on the wrong apartment door. Wouldn't that just be just like him, stumble into the apartment of a beautiful girl and need to admit you fucked up and have to leave immediately.

But she was nodding up at him. 

"I have a washing machine," she began.

_Right._ "Yes, of course, that's why I'm here," he said, more a reminder to himself than anything else. 

"It's just here, through the kitchen," she said, gesturing towards the nearest opening in the wall. 

Ben nodded and his eyes followed the length of her arm into a room with vintage-looking cupboards, a small countertop, and an ancient refrigerator. The part of Ben's brain still functioning as an appliance technician thought it looked well maintained, but the entire apartment probably hadn't been updated in years. The washing machine might be equally as ancient. Maybe the fix wouldn't take only forty-five minutes. Maybe it would take _hours,_ he thought. Maybe he would have to come back tomorrow…

"So, this way," Rey gestured again, interrupting Ben's ridiculous thoughts. Had he truly been contemplating insurance fraud just to spend more time with a woman he'd met less than a minute ago?

He took a step forward. The kitchen was painted a bright yellow and smelled _great,_ kind of like sugar cookies, thought Ben. He loved it immediately. It was warm and inviting, just like its owner. _Rey._

He looked around the room, noting that there was no dishwasher, just a deep, old fashioned split sink. On the left side of the sink sat four or five dirty wine glasses. The dish rack to the right of the sink was empty. 

Rey winced slightly as she looked at the sink. She hated the fact that she couldn't keep her kitchen clean. It was a bad habit she'd recently gotten herself into. Every night after dinner, she carefully measured herself one four ounce glass of wine. She nursed it all evening and by the time she finished, it was late, and she was too tired to wash the glass. As a result, they piled up until by the weekend she had a little family of dirty stemware that needed attending. 

“Oh, did you have a party last night?” Ben asked, first following her gaze towards the sink and then looking back at her. 

Rey froze, like she'd been caught. _Oh no._ "Ah, well, not, um, exactly." She crossed her arms, almost like giving herself a hug as she stepped away from Ben toward the other end of the kitchen. "Party of one, that's me," she said, her voice high and thin. 

Horrified, Ben began berating himself almost instantly. _This is why Poe says stay away from personal comments while on the job. Fuck. I'm no good at talking, what was I thinking--oh of course--I wasn't._ "Oh," he said, unhelpfully, his mouth hanging open as he searched for his next words. "Well, they're very… pretty wine glasses," he finished.

Rey nodded. "Thanks," she said, turning and exiting the kitchen into the tiny laundry room just beyond. She took a calming breath. The repair guy, _Ben,_ obviously hadn't meant any criticism, if the apologetic, almost beseeching look on his face was anything to go by. And he'd made up for his blunder by complimenting the wine glasses. She had a set of six that she'd purchased for herself after getting her associates degree from Chandrila Technical college and landing her job at the auto body shop. They were long stemmed with subtle light green streaks painted on the curved flutes and Rey loved them. 

She turned as Ben followed her into the laundry room, a tiny closet that held the washer and dryer with barely any space to stand in front of them. With Ben in front of the washer, Rey was effectively trapped in the room next to the dryer. Up close like this, her body wasted no time in reminding her how attractive he was, she felt her heart beat faster and her breasts tense up, going all tight and heavy.

"So, here we are," she said, trying for a smile again. Ben still looked so distressed, and inexplicably, she felt compelled to reassure him. Slowly, she reached out and patted his arm. "I really do appreciate how quickly you came to help."

Ben's head was swimming again, this time through outer space, the feel of her warm hand, even though his work shirt was enough to have him seeing stars. He nodded, turned to the washer unit, and his heart sank. _Oh fuck no._

The washing machine was positively decrepit, a _Snoke_ brand unit that Ben had worked on in the past and absolutely hated. The machine was at least thirty years old if it was a day. Snokes were notoriously touchy and nearly impossible to work on due to a ridiculous design that made them extremely cheap to produce. Ben sighed. "You should just tell your landlord you need a new washing machine," he said. "This thing is beyond its last legs."

Rey shook her head. "I wish I could, but it was in my lease that the units wouldn't be replaced if they're not able to be fixed. I can't afford a new one." Ben looked angry, like he wanted to argue, so Rey kept going. "Please, Ben. I can help, I'm a mechanic, if you could show me what to do, at least to start, I could probably figure the rest out…" But Ben was already nodding; she'd had him at _please._

Over the next hour, Ben and Rey ran the water, drained the water when the machine didn't agitate as it should, and then took the unit apart, Ben showing Rey what he was doing as he did it. She caught on fast, and soon they were working in an easy partnership, laughing at the poor design of the Snoke unit and chatting easily about their shared interest in making machines work. 

Ben felt it was going fairly well, except for one moment where, his hands buried deep in the guts of the machine, he was trying to show Rey some wires she needed to be sure weren't crossed, and she leaned in close, inadvertently pressing her breasts up against his arm and giving him a clear view of her cleavage as she leaned down into the guts of the machine. He jumped a little, almost elbowing her in the stomach, and Rey moved back gingerly, murmuring reassurances as they both burned up with blushing.

As the noon hour approached, it became clear they weren't going to be done anytime soon. The machine was still half disassembled and they hadn't even accessed the agitator controls yet. Ben apologetically began to explain that he had another appointment at 1pm, and was debating offering to come back that evening, when Rey interrupted him. 

"You can't _leave,"_ she exclaimed. "It's lunchtime!"

Ben worked his jaw back and forth, not sure how he was going to convince himself to disagree with her. She could ask him to stay forever at this point and he would be agreeable.

"I mean," Rey said, shaking her head. "You need to get to your appointments, and I should get to work, but let me make you a sandwich," she shook her hands at him to forestall his objections.

Rey really hoped she could convince Ben to stay. He was so _gorgeous,_ could talk with her about repairing machines, and he was so kind, she thought, remembering that awkward moment when she'd held herself back from pressing further into his warm body as she'd leaned in close to him. She'd let her hormones get the better of her manners, but he'd blushed and smiled at her and made her feel like everything was okay, better than okay, like things were practically perfect.

"You came here to fix a washer and ended up teaching a one person class on mid-century appliances," she giggled. "Not what you signed up for, so please? Stay for lunch?"

Ben nodded, _in so much trouble already,_ he knew, because he was unable to deny her anything when she asked so sweetly. 

They stood and made their way back into the kitchen. "Hmm," said Rey. "You can use the sink in here to wash up, or the bathroom is right at the end of the hallway." She gestured to the other end of the apartment. 

Ben nodded, but didn't move. He didn't want to overstep again, Rey was just being nice, offering to let him use her bathroom and he wasn't supposed to, per company policy. But he certainly wasn't supposed to accept lunch invitations either, and he'd already done that. _In for a penny,_ he thought, turning towards the hallway, and resolutely keeping his eyes fixed on the doorway at the end of it. 

The bathroom was much like the rest of the apartment, serviceable but nothing new or special and Ben hated how Rey's landlord obviously didn't give a shit about modernizing any of these apartments. Didn't Plutt realize how special Rey was, that she deserved the best of everything? 

Ben quickly washed his hands and face, trying his best to ignore the feminine touches, the smell of perfume and flowers, the pretty nightgown hanging from a hook on the door. He _would not look at anything of hers, that would be creepy and weird,_ he told himself over and over again until he escaped the little room, and returned back towards the kitchen.

Rey was stepping out of the kitchen with two plates as Ben came down the hallway. "Here," she said cheerfully, handing him the plates. "Put these on the table?" Behind him, opposite the kitchen, was a little dining table in the corner of a cozy room that held a loveseat and coffee table with a small television in the opposite corner. 

Rey took a deep breath and went back into the kitchen to gather the sandwich fixings. She hadn't asked Ben what he liked, but a big guy like him must eat a lot, so she loaded up her arms with a loaf of bread, some sliced turkey she'd picked up at the deli, and the few condiments in her fridge. She hoped he liked yellow mustard and dill pickles. For some reason, at the moment, it seemed like the most important thing in the world. 

Ben smiled as he put the colorful, mismatched plates on the table. They were so cheerful and original, just like Rey. Looking around, he saw a stack of magazines, copies of _Popular Mechanics_ from ten years ago, on a small table next to the love seat. "Oh wow," he said, when Rey entered the room. "You read _Popular Mechanics?_ These are some great editions." 

"I've collected those over a long time," Rey admitted, not mentioning that most had been fished out of the trash during her younger years, after they'd been cast off by men who could afford the subscription. Ben didn't need to think she was any more pathetic than he already did what with her one woman wine evenings and mismatched dinnerware. The fact that they were stacked on the floor like she was a hoarder or something made her flush with embarrassment. 

"They're great," Ben repeated, looking up at Rey, who was holding a block of cheddar cheese and a tomato, and he gave her a genuine smile. "Here, let me help you with that," he said, returning to the table, and helping her arrange the food on the plates she'd provided.

They prepared their sandwiches in companionable silence, and Rey was secretly thrilled to see Ben create a sandwich with nearly everything she brought to the table. Taking care of him like this just felt right.

"So," Ben said, after finishing half his sandwich, "how long have you lived at Plutt Arms? Do you like it?" Internally, he kicked himself for potentially asking more questions that could only lead to embarrassment for the both of them. But his desire to get to know her was slowly overcoming his better judgment. He knew Plutt Arms was in a bad part of town. The apartment was old fashioned and the terms of her lease weren't very favorable. How could she like living here? He held his breath, awaiting her response. 

"Well," she began. "It's not much, I know, but it's the first place I've ever had that was my own." She looked down at her plate, not sure if she could bear to see Ben's reaction to her oversharing. "There are some nice things." Without looking at Ben, she stood and moved towards the window behind the loveseat. "I really love this," she said, pulling open the curtains. 

Instantly, the room flooded with light. Once his eyes adjusted, Ben gasped as he realized _exactly_ what Rey was talking about. "You have a view of the harbor," he breathed, taking in the small section of glittering water visible between the surrounding buildings. 

Rey absolutely _beamed_ at Ben, and he felt like, in that moment, he'd do whatever it took to keep Rey smiling like that, for as long as he could. "You see?" She laughed, raising her hand to the side and cocking her hip out. "You like it?" She asked like his opinion mattered and Ben's heart skipped a beat. 

Taking a deep, calming breath, he nodded, smiling back at her. "It's amazing. Makes the Snoke brand appliances totally worth it," he teased. 

Rey laughed again, returning to the table. "Oh absolutely," she said with a hint of sarcasm. Looking over at a small, wall mounted clock she noted the time and tried not to pout. "It's almost quarter till one," she said. "We better get going." 

Ben nodded, and started helping Rey clear the table. "Thanks for lunch. I usually don't have… such great company," he said with a lopsided grin that had Rey's stomach vault itself into her throat. Ben was special, she could tell. A guy like him, kind and sensitive, so handsome, with a steady job, he _absolutely_ must have a girlfriend, she realized with a jolt. And here she was, spending the morning mooning over him, it was ridiculous, really. 

"No thanks necessary," she said, rushing back into the kitchen, fleeing the room before Ben could see the look of disappointment on her face. She felt stupid and she _hated_ feeling stupid, but Ben didn't deserve to have her take it out on him. 

Ben watched Rey rush out of the room and his shoulders slumped as he felt his heart sink. He thought for a moment that he and Rey had really connected, and she was smiling up at him again, when all of a sudden her face had shuttered closed and she'd run off. Obviously his comment about her being great company had reminded her that he was just the hired help, and she probably had better people to enjoy lunch with. She had only made him lunch to be nice, because she couldn't help being a sweetheart. But someone as pretty and sweet as Rey probably had a man in her life that maybe wouldn't be too happy if he learned she'd spent all morning with another guy, and then made him lunch. That must have been why she'd run off like that, Ben decided. 

Living with disappointment was nothing new, Ben thought, and grabbed the remaining items off the table and followed Rey into the kitchen. He gently shushed her when she protested that he didn't have to help her clean up, and within minutes, everything was away and the dishes were cleaned. Ben even managed to wash Rey's elegant wine glasses while she was distracted with rewrapping the turkey and cheese. 

All too soon, Ben found himself back in the laundry room, gathering up his tools and looking down at the _Snoke_ basically torn in half on the floor in front of him. He really needed to leave now in order to not be late for his next appointment, but he _yearned_ to reach out his hand and ask Rey if she'd come with him. Not like, to his next job site, where he'd be fixing a garbage disposal, that would be disgusting, but like, join him for dinner. 

Unhappily, he slowly turned towards the kitchen and made his way back to her door. She was already there, digging through her large shoulder bag until she found her keys. She looked up at him, her face serious, and held out her hand. 

"It was nice to meet you, Ben." Her eyes were so wide. Unblinking.

"Yes, it was. Nice to meet you, too." Ben said, taking her hand for a gentle shake. 

He watched their joined hands as they bobbed up and down once. This is the part where he should pull his hand back, he thought. 

Rey saw her hand completely disappear under and inside Ben's large fingers as they shook. Her fingers gripped his hand and when the shake was over, she didn't let go; she didn't want to let go. 

Rey chanced a look up at Ben. He was still looking at their joined hands and nervously biting the inside of his cheek. Rey squeezed Ben's hand, and pulled.

It worked better than she could have hoped, really. She and Ben were now standing nearly stomach to stomach with their still clasped hands between them, but best of all, Ben's face, his hair, his _lips,_ were just inches away from Rey's. She blinked up at him.

"Rey," Ben began, his voice soft and rough, "if you're… available, or, if you're not busy tomorrow night, could I take you to dinner? If you'd like to, that is."

Rey released the breath she'd been holding since the handshake started. "Yes, dinner, tomorrow. Sounds wonderful." Rey felt light-headed and swayed slightly further into Ben's warmth. "You're… available?" she heard herself asking.

"Oh, very," Ben chuckled at the goofy expression on Rey's face as he brought his other arm up and around her for a quick squeeze before stepping back. "I can pick you up here? Is six o'clock okay?"

Rey nodded, "perfect." She gave Ben a small wave as he opened the door and stepped out. 

"Bye Rey," Ben smiled as he stepped into the hallway, and she was about to shut the door behind him when he suddenly turned back. "Your washing machine, _shit,_ we should..."

Rey just laughed. "Don't worry about that Ben, it's a good project for the weekend. Now don't be late for your next job!" 

"Promise me you'll let me help you with it," Ben pointed at her, walking backwards down her hallway. 

"That's a promise," Rey called after him, as he turned the corner towards the stairwell. 

Shutting the door, Rey leaned back against it with a sigh. She was tingling from head to toe with excitement thinking about her date tomorrow with Ben. She took a moment to squeal with delight as she grabbed her jacket. How was she going to get through the workday feeling so giddy?

She turned and opened her door to leave and gasped in shock as _Ben_ stood there, his hand raised as if he was about to knock. He smiled and grabbed her by the arms, twirling her around. 

Setting her down gently, his large hand came up to cup her cheek, and Rey's breath stuttered as his thumb gently smoothed the skin under her eye. "Rey, I couldn't leave without--"

She didn't give him an opportunity to finish that thought, as she bounced up on her toes to kiss him. 

Ben was only _a little_ late for his next job. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
